100 books like SuperSense

By Bruce Hood,

Here are 100 books that SuperSense fans have personally recommended if you like SuperSense. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat And Other Clinical Tales

Pepper Stetler Author Of A Measure of Intelligence: One Mother's Reckoning with the IQ Test

From my list on exploring what it means to be smart.

Why am I passionate about this?

I never really thought much about how limited and exclusionary our society’s ideas about intelligence are until my daughter, who has Down syndrome, was required to take her first IQ test before she started kindergarten. That experience led me to research the history of the IQ test and how it has shaped our culture’s ideas about intelligence in pernicious ways. I am a college professor who is working to change the educational and employment opportunities available to people with intellectual disabilities. I hope you enjoy the books on this list. May they lead you to reconsider what you think it means to be smart. 

Pepper's book list on exploring what it means to be smart

Pepper Stetler Why did Pepper love this book?

I love Sack’s empathy toward his patients and his commitment to telling a different and highly unique narrative about the human experience. His classic collection of essays is not about intelligence, but each patient he writes about knows and understands the world differently than what is considered normal.

Sacks makes room for the challenges and brilliance of all ways of being in the world.

By Oliver Sacks,

Why should I read it?

14 authors picked The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat And Other Clinical Tales as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Celebrating Fifty Years of Picador Books

If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self - himself - he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it.

In this extraordinary book, Dr. Oliver Sacks recounts the stories of patients struggling to adapt to often bizarre worlds of neurological disorder. Here are people who can no longer recognize everyday objects or those they love; who are stricken with violent tics or shout involuntary obscenities, and yet are gifted with…


Book cover of The Happy Brain: The Science of Where Happiness Comes From, and Why

Ginny Smith Author Of Overloaded: How Every Aspect of Your Life Is Influenced by Your Brain Chemicals

From my list on the amazing human brain.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been curious, but it wasn’t until university that I discovered my fascination with brain science. Here was a real challenge. An incredibly complex system, full of mysteries and unknowns, that needed breaking down, and understanding at the most fundamental level. And not only that, but it was something that affected us all, every day. I was hooked. Since graduating, I have worked as a science communicator, sharing my love of the brain with anyone who will listen- via podcasts, books, blogs, and on stage. I also founded Braintastic Science! which provides spectacular shows, workshops, and resources to help young people understand and get the best out of their amazing brains.

Ginny's book list on the amazing human brain

Ginny Smith Why did Ginny love this book?

In this book, Burnett takes the readers on his own journey of discovery, trying to find out what it is that makes us happy. Along the way, he explores topics from love to work to relationships and discovers that happiness isn’t as simple as it might seem. Written in Burnett’s signature witty style, with personal anecdotes and laugh-out-loud moments, this book is easy to read, but packed with neuroscience. It will leave you thinking differently about what it really is we need in order to be happy.

By Dean Burnett,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Happy Brain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Do you want to be happy?

If so - read on. This book has all the answers.*

In The Happy Brain, neuroscientist Dean Burnett delves deep into the inner workings of our minds to explore some fundamental questions about happiness. For starters: what does it actually mean to be happy? Where does it come from? And is there a secret to making it last forever?

In his research into these questions - and many more besides - Burnett unravels our complex internal lives to reveal the often surprising truth behind what makes us tick. From whether happiness really begins at…


Book cover of Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things

Karen C. Murdarasi Author Of Why Everything You Know about Robin Hood Is Wrong: Featuring a pirate monk, a French maid, and a surprising number of morris dancers

From my list on challenging your preconceptions.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a writer and historian, I’m all about rabbit holes. When something I’ve never heard about before catches my interest, I have to find out more—and sometimes I end up writing whole books on the subject! I have a head full of bizarre little nuggets of information, and I love reading books, like the ones here, that tell me something new and change my way of thinking. 

Karen's book list on challenging your preconceptions

Karen C. Murdarasi Why did Karen love this book?

Quirkology has a whole chapter on jokes, and the search for the funniest one. I listened to this as an audiobook and did a lot of chortling while I was out walking. (Fortunately there weren’t too many people around.) 

But there’s also plenty of serious and handy stuff, about whether you can tell when you are being lied to, what makes some people “luckier” than others, and what to talk about during speed dating. (Men should talk about travel, not films, if they want to make a connection with the opposite sex.) 

There’s also a section on nominative determinism (your name defining your destiny), and the irony was not lost on author and researcher, Dr. Wiseman. 

By Richard Wiseman,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Quirkology as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For over twenty years, psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman has examined the quirky science of everyday life. In Quirkology, he navigates the backwaters of human behavior, discovering the tell-tale signs that give away a liar, the secret science behind speed-dating and personal ads, and what a persons sense of humor reveals about the innermost workings of their mind- all along paying tribute to others who have carried out similarly weird and wonderful work. Wisemans research has involved secretly observing people as they go about their daily business, conducting unusual experiments in art exhibitions and music concerts, and even staging fake sances…


Book cover of Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain

H. Chris Ransford Author Of In Search of Ultimate Reality: Inside the Cosmologist's Abyss

From my list on weird thrilling science universe.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I felt profoundly dissatisfied by the pat and cardboard cutout explanations that some teachers offered for life and the universe: there had to be more! I decided to go into science. The explanatory power of science is 'next level,' to use a contemporary phrase, and unless and until we explore it, we'll miss the beauty and sheer wonder of the universe. Neither should we overly specialize: science is not compartmentalized, but vastly different fields of science feed into and reinforce one another. Popular science has an essential role to play: irrespective of how arcane hard science may appear to be, its story can always be told in everyday words.

H. Chris' book list on weird thrilling science universe

H. Chris Ransford Why did H. Chris love this book?

I loved this book because it offers a refreshing view of what neuroscience can and should be. Unlike different, highly credentialed neuroscientists who routinely offer vastly incompatible views of consciousness and who we ultimately are, this book instead focuses on the extraordinary theme of how the brain organizes the engineering of consciousness rather than on the more elusive and controversial deeper questions. 

As an illustration of the many mind-broadening themes broached in this superb book, instinct is often used as the be-all and end-all explanation of certain animal and human behaviors. Of the two hundred or so books I have read on the subject of consciousness and the brain, I have never before come across a more cogent explanation of how instinct arises and sets over many generations. 

By David Eagleman,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Livewired as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What does drug withdrawal have in common with a broken heart? Why is the enemy of memory not time, but other memories? How can a blind person learn to see with her tongue or a deaf person learn to hear with his skin? Why did many people in the 1980s mistakenly perceive book pages to be slightly red in colour? Why is the world's best archer armless? Might we someday control a robot with our thoughts, just as we do our fingers and toes? Why do we dream at night, and what does that have to do with the rotation…


Book cover of Belief: What It Means to Believe and Why Our Convictions Are So Compelling

John V. Petrocelli Author Of The Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit

From my list on detecting bullshit, misinformation, and fake news.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an experimental social psychologist, who has conducted years of empirical research on bullshitting behavior and bullshit detection, I’ve found compelling evidence that the worst outcomes of bullshit communications are false beliefs and bad decisions. I’m convinced that all of our problems, whether they be personal, interpersonal, professional, or societal are either directly or indirectly linked to mindless bullshit reasoning and communication. I’m just sick and tired of incompetent, bullshit artists who capitalize by repackaging and selling what I and other experimental psychologists do for free. It’s time the masses learn that some of us who actually do the research on the things we write about can actually do it better.    

John's book list on detecting bullshit, misinformation, and fake news

John V. Petrocelli Why did John love this book?

James Alcock is the only social psychologist I know who could write a clear, accessible, and comprehensive volume on the psychology of belief—particularly how our thoughts and feelings, actions and reactions, respond not to the world as it actually is but to the world as we believe it to be. No matter how much you think you know about beliefs, and no matter what you actually believe, any reader will find surprises in Alcock’s treatise, such as why so many people cling to beliefs that are foolish, self-destructive, and wrong, believing them to be wise, self-protective, and right. Belief convinced me that faulty beliefs, arising from misapprehension about the cause of a disease, misperceptions of an enemy’s actions, misreading a lover’s motive, misconceptions about which, if any, gods are real, can lead to irrational, maladaptive, and sometimes deadly actions.

By James E. Alcock,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Belief as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An expert on the psychology of belief examines how our thoughts and feelings, actions and reactions, respond not to the world as it actually is but to the world as we believe it to be.

This book explores the psychology of belief - how beliefs are formed, how they are influenced both by internal factors, such as perception, memory, reason, emotion, and prior beliefs, as well as external factors, such as experience, identification with a group, social pressure, and manipulation. It also reveals how vulnerable beliefs are to error, and how they can be held with great confidence even when…


Book cover of The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery

Yong Kang Chan Author Of The Disbelief Habit

From my list on calm the inner critic and make peace with thoughts.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up with low self-esteem. As an introvert, I found it difficult to make friends in school and I feel I wasn’t good enough for others. Even when I had my first job, I found myself tearing up in the restroom cubicle one day, feeling defective and unable to fit in. That set me off on a journey to improve my self-esteem. I began reading a lot and taking courses on this topic. For years, I felt more confident and worthy. However, it wasn’t until I had a depression that I was truly transformed. After I recovered, I become committed to living peacefully.

Yong's book list on calm the inner critic and make peace with thoughts

Yong Kang Chan Why did Yong love this book?

This book inspires me to write my book on my inner critic. One of my favorite books of all time is The Four Agreements, by the same authors. In this book, they introduce a new fifth agreement, which is to be skeptical, but learn to listen.

After reading the book, I apply this teaching to my mental chatter. Even though I listen to the thoughts in my head, I am more skeptical and have more discernment of my thoughts. I know that what my inner critic tells me may or may not be the truth. Instead of feeling hurt by my critical thoughts, I am able to let them go more readily.

By Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz, Janet Mills

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Fifth Agreement as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the international bestselling author of The Four Agreements

In The Four Agreements, don Miguel Ruiz revealed how the process of our education, or “domestication,” can make us forget the wisdom we were born with. Throughout our lives, we make many agreements that go against ourselves and create needless suffering. The Four Agreements help us to break these self-limiting agreements and replace them with agreements that bring us personal freedom, happiness, and love.

In The Fifth Agreement, don Miguel Ruiz joins his son don Jose Ruiz to offer a fresh perspective on The Four Agreements and a powerful new agreement…


Book cover of When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God

Barbara Newman Author Of The Permeable Self: Five Medieval Relationships

From my list on being a person in community.

Why am I passionate about this?

In my career as a medievalist, I’ve been inspired by L. P. Hartley’s maxim that “the past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” At the same time, the people who live there are humans like ourselves. So, I’ve always tried to balance the alterity with the universality of the medieval past, asking big questions that bring together a wide range of sources and genres. In my forty years of teaching at Northwestern, I’ve enjoyed watching the impact of medieval texts change with each generation of students as they discover this strange yet immensely generative world. 

Barbara's book list on being a person in community

Barbara Newman Why did Barbara love this book?

My favorite anthropologist, Tanya Luhrmann, always has fascinating insights about how people come to believe what they believe. In this book, she argues that today’s Christian converts—much like the medieval saints I write about—must learn the art of prayer through intentional training.

We often think of praying as a solitary pursuit, but she demonstrates that this spiritual discipline can only be taught and learned in community. Luhrmann uses both in-depth interviews and ingenious scientific experiments to explore how this happens. 

By T.M. Luhrmann,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked When God Talks Back as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A New York Times Notable Book
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012

A bold approach to understanding the American evangelical experience from an anthropological and psychological perspective by one of the country's most prominent anthropologists.
 
Through a series of intimate, illuminating interviews with various members of the Vineyard, an evangelical church with hundreds of congregations across the country, Tanya Luhrmann leaps into the heart of evangelical faith. Combined with scientific research that studies the effect that intensely practiced prayer can have on the mind, When God Talks Back examines how normal, sensible people—from college students to accountants to housewives,…


Book cover of The Varieties of Religious Experience

Andrew Newberg Author Of The Varieties of Spiritual Experience: 21st Century Research and Perspectives

From my list on the science of spiritual experiences.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a child, I have been fascinated by the question, “What is the nature of reality, and how can we know it?”  To engage this question, I have explored neuroscience throughout my career, trying to understand how our brain perceives reality. During that time, I have also come to recognize the profound importance of religious, spiritual, and philosophical approaches to this question. I have been particularly fascinated by the intense spiritual experiences that people throughout time and all cultures have described. My work in this book and throughout my career has looked at this intersection of spirituality and the brain, a field, sometimes referred to as Neurotheology.

Andrew's book list on the science of spiritual experiences

Andrew Newberg Why did Andrew love this book?

The Varieties of Religious Experience has not only been an inspiration to me throughout my career, but has laid the foundation for the entire exploration of the most powerful experiences people have.

By combining psychology and religion, James embarked on a journey to recount and organize our understanding of religious experiences. Importantly, he also related his analysis to religion itself providing a basis for exploring the field of neurotheology – linking the brain and spirituality – long before we had the technology of MRI or PET brain scans.

His remarkable combination of philosophy, psychology, religion, and spirituality

By William James,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Varieties of Religious Experience as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First published in 1902, “The Varieties of Religious Experience” is William James’ philosophical and psychological examination of the nature of religion in human civilization. Based on James’s own Gifford Lectures given at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland between 1901 and 1902, James argues that “Scientific theories are organically conditioned just as much as religious emotions are; and if we only knew the facts intimately enough, we should doubtless see ‘the liver’ determining the dicta of the sturdy atheist as decisively as it does those of the Methodist under conviction anxious about his soul. When it alters in one way…


Book cover of A Guide to Liberating Your Soul

Grant Tate Author Of Hand on the Shoulder: Finding Freedom in the Confluence of Love and Career

From my list on disillusionment and transformation.

Why am I passionate about this?

For years, I’ve asked myself why I crashed. What was the complex web of principles and circumstances that landed a successful, upstanding, highly qualified person into a psychiatrist’s office? And, further, what inner strengths led me to ultimate transformation and a better understanding of myself and my environment? This book has been a project of self-exploration, of the stories and decisions that helped me climb, fall, and recover—exploring the confluence of love and career.

Grant's book list on disillusionment and transformation

Grant Tate Why did Grant love this book?

Richard Barrett’s book is like the engineer's guide to self-enlightenment. Like David Brooks in the second mountain, the author describes a personal journey to discover one’s inner purpose and soul.

The book's first section explores ways to develop self-knowledge, even providing a variety of charts to explain the author's philosophical concepts: exploring consciousness, self-identity, and beliefs. Part two defines ways to discover one’s purpose and then articulates pathways and strategies to live that purpose.

Had I read and studied this book in my early life, my path might have been much different. That is, of course, if I had the mind to follow Barrett’s suggestions.

By Richard Barrett,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Guide to Liberating Your Soul as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Everything you need to know about personal transformation. Drawing on leading-edge theories of science, religion and psychology, Richard Barrett provides a detailed account of the interactions of the personality with the soul. He weaves together a comprehensive model of consciousness with the soul at the center. He teaches you ten strategies for attaining soul consciousness and how to see and live life from the perspective of the soul.


Book cover of On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to Be Good

Kara Loewentheil Author Of Take Back Your Brain: How a Sexist Society Gets in Your Head--and How to Get It Out

From my list on women to feel confident, powerful, and brave.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a professional feminist since I had a profession. I spent the first half of my career advocating for women's equality as a reproductive rights attorney and academic. I’ve spent the second half teaching women how to liberate themselves from the inside out as a feminist mindset coach, host of the UnF*ck Your Brain podcast, and founder of The School of New Feminist Thought. These books were all crucial in helping me create more confidence and more power to impact the course of my own life, and I know they will help you do the same. 

Kara's book list on women to feel confident, powerful, and brave

Kara Loewentheil Why did Kara love this book?

This book illustrates how social messages about virtue, worth, and goodness are deeply embedded in and intertwined with our cultural, social, and religious history.

As someone who uses social and historical context to deepen the power of coaching tools and cognitive change strategies, I loved this in-depth exploration of some of the cultural beliefs that underlie the negative self-talk I see in my women clients’ minds so often.

Understanding where these beliefs come from and how we are enforcing them on ourselves makes it a lot easier to change them. 

By Elise Loehnen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked On Our Best Behavior as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* 'A stunning, big and bold encyclopedia of how to live' LISA TADDEO 'Astute, radical and utterly compelling' KATHERINE MAY 'You will finish this book and immediately hand your copy over to your best friend' JENNIFER ANISTON _______________ Why do women equate self-denial with being 'good'? We congratulate ourselves when we resist the donut in the office breakroom. We celebrate our restraint when we hold back from sending an email in anger. We put others' needs ahead of our own and believe this makes us exemplary. Journalist and podcast host Elise Loehnen explains that these…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in psychology of religion, the supernatural, and the human brain?

The Supernatural 362 books
The Human Brain 8 books